(Atlanta, Georgia)—Whitman
Publishing announces the release of
American Silver Eagles: A
Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program, by John M. Mercanti,
retired chief engraver of the United States Mint, and Michael
“Miles” Standish, senior grader at PCGS. The 168-page hardcover book
will be available November 20, 2012, online and from bookstores and
hobby retailers nationwide. It can be pre-ordered at www.Whitman.com.
The retail price is $29.95.

The hugely popular
.999 fine one-ounce American Silver Eagle coin is collected by
numismatists, stockpiled by investors, and treasured by silver
buyers throughout the United States
and around the world.

Now, no less an expert
than John M. Mercanti—the designer of the coin’s reverse—shares his
unique insight and perspective on these beautiful pieces of
Americana.

To create this book,
Mercanti has drawn on nearly 40 years of experience working in the
U.S. Mint, starting in 1974 as a sculptor-engraver and culminating
with his 2006 appointment as the Mint’s 12th chief engraver
(supervisor of design and master tooling development specialist).
Mercanti is joined by Miles Standish, vice president and senior
grader of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), who has
studied and graded the finest, rarest, and most valuable coins in
the world.

These two experts
bring together diverse elements—technical and artistic, historical
and current, market-driven and hobbyist—to make American Silver Eagles a
valuable addition to any numismatic bookshelf.

““Collectors and
investors have purchased more than 300 million American Silver
Eagles since 1986,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. “This is
the first book-length study of these popular coins.”

Contents include:o:p>

·A foreword by Michael Reagan, whose
father, President Ronald Reagan, signed the legislation that
authorized the American Silver Eagle.

·Chapter 1: The United States’ entrance into the
modern bullion market.

·Chapter 2: Mercanti’s behind-the-scenes
history of the American Silver Eagle, its design development, the
minting process, and other elements of the coinage series.